variants
also flunkey
or flunkie
1
as in servant
a person hired to perform household or personal services
since I'm just the flunky who files his papers, I've no idea where he is
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in sycophant
a person who flatters another in order to get ahead
a rock star who saw through the phonies and the flunkies
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of flunky
Jin and his other flunkies excuse themselves, but Tetsu keeps Botan there to question him.
—
Chris Klimek, Vulture, 24 July 2024
By quieting the clamor among the offended Giants, Mays was not acting as a flunky for his white manager.
—Aram Goudsouzian / Made By History, TIME, 25 June 2024
One fib could land him in jail with the rest of his flunkies.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 25 May 2024
Lou’s father runs the town, sort of like a low-level mobster in a mob that only employs flunkies and toadies with nothing better to do.
—Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 13 Mar. 2024
See All Example Sentences for flunky
Chris Klimek, Vulture, 24 July 2024
By quieting the clamor among the offended Giants, Mays was not acting as a flunky for his white manager.
—Aram Goudsouzian / Made By History, TIME, 25 June 2024
One fib could land him in jail with the rest of his flunkies.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 25 May 2024
Lou’s father runs the town, sort of like a low-level mobster in a mob that only employs flunkies and toadies with nothing better to do.
—Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 13 Mar. 2024
See All Example Sentences for flunky
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flunky
Noun
-
The whole setup looks like a giant creature with an extremely dense and compact body, a long, protruding neck, and an almost-cute face — a little bit like Wall-E, and a little bit like the servant-pet-robot from Red Planet that turns on Val Kilmer and tries to murder him.—
Sophie Ansari,
Vulture,
25 Sep. 2025
-
Of those who stay, more than eighty per cent work in the informal sector—as domestic servants, street hawkers, porters, cleaners.—
Kapil Komireddi,
New Yorker,
22 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
This willingness of the AI to heap praise and act as a sycophant has worrying consequences for the populace as a whole.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
-
But, even on a team of Trump sycophants, Bondi stands out for her fawning devotion.—
Ruth Marcus,
New Yorker,
18 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Netflix After Jake betrays Vince by tricking him into revealing his whereabouts to Mancuso and his lackey Babbitt (Chris Coy) to protect Vince's daughter Gen (Odessa Young) and get her to safety, Jake rushes to help Vince once again escape a vengeful Mancuso's clutches.—
Megan McCluskey,
Time,
18 Sep. 2025
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In the months before the $5 million match, Ali turned up the invective, calling Frazier dumb, mocking his dark skin, and painting him as a lackey for his white handlers.—
Vann R. Newkirk II,
The Atlantic,
16 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Such as holding court, choosing your sobriquet, and naming imbecilic lickspittles to our Kingsguard.—
Kimberly Roots,
TVLine,
7 July 2024
-
What happened to the idea that art and culture should be a contemptuous refuge from the mainstream, as opposed to this lickspittle, running dog accommodation to the mainstream?—
Billboard Staff,
Billboard,
3 June 2022
Noun
-
Darrell Smith, assistant commissioner for school choice and parent empowerment, has said about 55% are in kindergarten through fifth grade, while 23% are in middle school and 22% are in high school.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
2 Oct. 2025
-
An invitation to visit a friend’s family farm in Kenya in 1956 led to an introduction with the archaeologist Louis Leakey, who hired Goodall as an assistant and secretary.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Like many digital beings, Reps, as Replika’s avatars are known, are engineered to be agreeable, nonjudgmental, and zealously supportive—i.e., suck-ups.—
Patricia Marx,
New Yorker,
8 Sep. 2025
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Matthew eventually one-ups the request by losing his boxers as well and going full Winnie the Pooh, which earns him the respect of his fellow suck-ups.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
23 Aug. 2025
Noun
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This draft meeting resembled a bully in the high school cafeteria seeking toadies — any veneer of scouting objectivity was shed.—
Michael Hurley,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Sep. 2025
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In the past, Newsom denounced judges who ruled against them as toadies of the firearms industry.—
Dan Walters,
Mercury News,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Since buying the property in 2013, Swift has drawn fans to Bay Street, the village's main drag of clothing boutiques and ice cream counters, all checklist items on the Swiftie itinerary.—
Bryan West,
USA Today,
29 Sep. 2025
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Every time a player gets hurt, many players and fans across the league start calling on the NFL to make changes.—
Mark Kern,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Flunky.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flunky. Accessed 5 Oct. 2025.
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